The Long History of Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island, a stark and rocky landmass, rises from the heart of San Francisco Bay in California. This island, most famously known for its years as a maximum-security prison, possesses a history that stretches far beyond its infamous era, with legends and stories that have indelibly marked American lore. The story of The Long History of Alcatraz Island begins long before it became a symbol of imprisonment and isolation.
A Chronicle of Alcatraz
The narrative of Alcatraz is one of transformation, transitioning through multiple identities across the centuries. From its initial significance to Native Americans to its evolution into a military fortress and, ultimately, a notorious federal penitentiary, The Long History of Alcatraz Island reveals a complex tapestry of events.
Early Inhabitants and Spanish Influence
Long before its association with hardened criminals, Alcatraz held a different significance. Native American tribes, particularly the Ohlone, viewed the island with a mixture of reverence and fear. They believed it to be inhabited by malevolent spirits, often using it as a place of isolation for those who violated tribal laws. Despite the island’s ominous reputation, it also served as a seasonal resource for gathering bird eggs and other sea life.
The first Europeans to encounter Alcatraz were the Spanish in 1769. They christened it "Isla de Los Alcatraces," meaning "Island of the Pelicans," due to the large colonies of these birds inhabiting the island. As Spanish missions began to proliferate in Southern California, some Native Americans sought refuge on Alcatraz to evade forced conversion to Christianity.
From Mexican Territory to U.S. Military Fortress
The year 1848 marked a turning point, as the conclusion of the Mexican-American War brought California, including Alcatraz, under the dominion of the United States. The U.S. Army quickly recognized the island’s strategic importance for defending San Francisco Bay. In 1853, construction began on a fortress atop the island’s rugged sandstone foundation. Initial efforts focused on building a temporary wharf, workshops, barracks, and offices. The island’s natural topography was incorporated into the defensive design, with laborers blasting rock and erecting steep brick and stone walls. By 1854, the Alcatraz lighthouse was operational, and eleven cannons were mounted, marking the island’s nascent role as a formidable military stronghold.
Fort Alcatraz: A Coastal Defense (1850-1907)
The completion of Fort Alcatraz was a protracted undertaking. The allure of the California Gold Rush diverted potential laborers, and the scarcity of quality building materials caused delays. While some sandstone was quarried on nearby Angel Island, much of the granite needed for construction was imported from China.
In 1857, the first recorded fatalities occurred during the excavation of a roadway between the wharf and the guardhouse. A massive landslide buried several workers, resulting in the deaths of two men. Despite these challenges, the fortress gradually took shape with the construction of roadways, outbuildings, and the Citadel – the final defensive position. Completed in 1859, the fortress featured enclosed gun positions to protect the dock, a fortified guardhouse to control access, and the three-story Citadel atop the island, serving as armed barracks and the last line of defense. The Citadel’s only access was a drawbridge over a deep, dry moat, designed to house up to 200 soldiers with provisions for a four-month siege.
In December 1859, Captain Joseph Stewart and 86 men of Company H, Third U.S. Artillery, assumed command of Alcatraz Island, solidifying its role as the most powerful coastal defense in the West. In addition to its defensive capabilities, the island also served as a stockade for enlisted men. Recognizing the island’s isolation due to the cold water and strong currents, eleven soldiers were incarcerated in a cell block in the guardhouse basement. Soon, other forts with less secure garrisons began transferring deserters, escapees, and other prisoners to Alcatraz.
Civil War and Military Prison
In April 1861, Alcatraz took on the additional role of defending the Union state of California from Confederate sympathizers at the outbreak of the Civil War. With California’s population divided, tensions were high, and the fort was tasked with preventing local conflict and protecting San Francisco. Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, commanding the Department of the Pacific, sent 10,000 muskets and 150,000 ammunition cartridges to Fort Alcatraz, making it the most powerful fort west of the Mississippi River. This effectively deterred Confederate sympathizers from attempting to seize San Francisco Bay and bring California into the Confederacy.
Though Alcatraz never faced attack during the Civil War, the military personnel on the island increased to over 350 men. On August 27, 1861, Alcatraz was officially designated as the military prison for the Department of the Pacific. Conditions in the cell house were harsh, with men sleeping on stone floors without heat, running water, or sanitary facilities, leading to widespread sickness.
The first Confederate threat to California occurred in March 1863 when the army learned of a plot by Southern sympathizers to seize San Francisco Bay. The plan involved arming a schooner, capturing a steamship, blockading the harbor, and attacking the fort. However, the schooner’s captain boasted about the scheme in a tavern, and Union officials quickly intercepted the news. The U.S. Navy seized the ship and arrested the crew, discovering cannons, ammunition, and 15 additional men hidden onboard.
As the Civil War continued, Alcatraz’s role as a military prison expanded. The Confederates captured from the schooner joined other military prisoners and civilians arrested for treason. The guardhouse filled quickly, and a temporary wooden prison was built in 1863, later replaced by the Lower Prison. Prisoners were used for labor, constructing additional housing on the island as punishment.
In 1864, the U.S. Army mounted the first 15-inch Rodman cannons and built additional "bombproof barracks." By the end of the Civil War in 1865, the island had over 100 cannons, which were only used during a mourning salute for President Lincoln’s honorary funeral procession in San Francisco.
Post-Civil War and Native American Incarceration
Following the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers caught celebrating President Lincoln’s death were sent to Alcatraz, alongside military convicts and other "malcontents of society." The post-war era saw a surge in westward migration, leading to the Indian Wars. Native Americans convicted of mutiny or other crimes were incarcerated on Alcatraz alongside murderers, rapists, and other criminals. Other Native Americans who resisted the U.S. Government were also imprisoned on the island.
The first Native American prisoner was Paiute Tom, transferred from Camp McDermit in Nebraska on June 5, 1873. He was shot and killed by a guard two days later, the reasons for his transfer and death lost to history. Later that year, two Modoc Indians, Barncho and Sloluck, were sent to Alcatraz for participating in the murder of members of a peace commission during the Modoc Wars. President Ulysses S. Grant spared them from hanging due to their youth, sentencing them to imprisonment on Alcatraz. Barncho died of tuberculosis, while Sloluck was released in 1878 and joined his tribe in Indian Territory.
Other Native Americans accused of mutiny, involvement in Indian campaigns, or escape from other prisons were also sent to Alcatraz. Chief Kaetena, a compatriot of Geronimo, was imprisoned after fighting against General George Crook’s army. After two years, Crook wrote that "his stay on Alcatraz has worked a complete reformation in his character," and Kaetena was released in 1886.
In January 1895, nineteen Hopi leaders from northern Arizona were sent to Alcatraz for land disputes with the government and refusing mandatory government education programs for their children. A San Francisco newspaper reported that the Hopi were "rudely snatched from the bosom of their families and are prisoners . . . until they have learned to appreciate the advantage of education." They were released only after pledging to "cease interference with the government’s plans for the civilization and education of its Indian wards."
Throughout the late 1800s, the prison complex housed an average of 100 men. By 1891, most of the old cannons had been removed, leaving only seven. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, thousands of troops passed through San Francisco, some returning with tropical diseases. Alcatraz’s hospital was filled with sick prisoners, and several died of their illnesses. Four prisoners attempted to escape by paddling to the mainland on a butter vat, but the currents returned them to the island.
Military Prison (1907-1934)
By the turn of the century, the prison population had grown to over 400, prompting the hasty construction of another prison complex on the parade ground. The Upper Prison consisted of three wooden cell houses surrounded by a stockade fence. Over the next several years, support buildings were added to the Upper Prison, and the Lower Prison was converted into workshops for prison labor. In 1902, an oil lantern fire nearly destroyed the Lower Prison. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, officials evacuated 176 city prisoners to Alcatraz for nine days. Recognizing the fire hazards, new concrete barracks were built by prison labor.
As U.S. military ships became more powerful, Alcatraz’s defensive capabilities diminished. In 1907, it was re-designated as the "Pacific Branch, U.S. Military Prison," and prison guards replaced infantry soldiers. New projects were initiated to accommodate the growing number of military prisoners, including German prisoners of war during World War I. The upper citadel was torn down, and a vast cell house was built over the citadel basement and moat. Completed in 1912, the new cell house was the largest reinforced concrete building in the world, containing four cell blocks with 600 cells, each with a toilet and electricity.
In 1915, the island was renamed the "Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks," with a new emphasis on education and rehabilitation. Convicted men with less serious offenses attended military training, remedial education, and vocational training. Successful participants were restored to active duty, while those with more serious offenses were dishonorably discharged after serving their terms. Alcatraz was a minimum-security prison, and prisoners were locked in their cells only at night, spending their days in classes or work activities.
Throughout these years, several inmates attempted to escape, mostly unsuccessfully. Driftwood was used in escape attempts in 1912, 1916, and 1927, and a ladder was used in 1929. Most who tried to swim to shore never made it. The most successful escape occurred on November 28, 1918, when four prisoners escaped with rafts and were presumed drowned, but later reappeared in Sutro Forest. Only one was recaptured.
As a military prison, there were at least 80 escape attempts in 29 separate incidents. Sixty-two were captured, one may have drowned, and the fate of 17 others remained unknown.
Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary (1934 -1963)
By 1933, the army deemed Alcatraz too expensive to operate due to the high costs of importing water, food, and supplies. Simultaneously, the gangster era was in full swing, fueled by the Great Depression and Prohibition. Cities were plagued by violence as mobsters took control, and law enforcement was often corrupt or outmatched. Existing prisons experienced escapes, riots, and gang-related murders.
Alcatraz presented an ideal solution. J. Edgar Hoover saw the opportunity to create a "super-prison" that would instill fear in criminals, offer no escape, and safely control inmates. Negotiations began, and Alcatraz was transferred to the Bureau of Prisons in October 1933. By early 1934, eighty years of U.S. Army occupation ended. Except for 32 hard-case prisoners who remained on the island, the others were transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Fort Jay, New Jersey.
Beginning on January 1, 1934, the Bureau of Prisons began upgrading Alcatraz into an "escape-proof" maximum-security prison. Four guard towers were constructed, and 336 cells were reconstructed with tool-proof steel fronts and locking devices operated from control boxes. No cells adjoined a perimeter wall. Every window was equipped with tool-proof steel guards, and gun galleries were erected in the cellblock, allowing guards armed with machine guns to oversee all inmate activities.
The mess hall and main entrance were equipped with tear gas canisters that could be remotely activated. Electromagnetic metal detectors were installed outside the mess hall and at workshop entrances. Electricity and sanitary facilities were upgraded in each cell, and the utility tunnels were cemented to prevent prisoner access. The barracks buildings were converted into living quarters for the prison guards and their families, including four wood-frame houses, one duplex, and three apartment buildings.
U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings and Director of the Bureau of Prisons Sanford Bates created a legendary prison, nicknamed "Uncle Sam’s Devil’s Island." James A. Johnston, with over 12 years of experience in the California Department of Corrections, was appointed as the first warden. Johnston was known for his strict ideals, humanistic approach to reform, and rigid discipline.
Johnston and Bates established guiding principles based on rewards and consequences, rewarding inmates with privileges or sentence reductions for hard work and harshly punishing those who defied prison regulations. Inmates were not directly sentenced to Alcatraz; they "earned" their transfer by attempting to escape, exhibiting unmanageable behavior, or receiving special privileges. Thus, Alcatraz became home to the "worst of the worst" criminals.
On July 1, 1934, the maximum-security penitentiary officially received its first prisoners, including Frank Bolt, serving a five-year sentence for sodomy. Other inmates had committed crimes such as robbery, assault, rape, and desertion. The following month, 69 more prisoners arrived, including Al Capone.
Warden Johnston began a custom of meeting new inmates upon their arrival. When Capone attempted to assert his power, Johnston immediately assigned him his prison number and ordered him back in line. Capone’s arrival at Alcatraz generated significant media attention, marking the beginning of public fascination with the prison.
During his 4 ½ years at Alcatraz, Capone held menial jobs and spent eight days in isolation after a fight. He was eventually transferred to Terminal Island Prison in 1938 and released in November 1939. He died in Miami in 1947 at 48. George "Machine Gun" Kelly arrived in September, having previously been incarcerated at Leavenworth for bootlegging and bank robbery. After a kidnapping, he was given a life sentence and transferred to Alcatraz, where he was said to have been a model prisoner for seventeen years. He was returned to Leavenworth in 1951, paroled in 1954, and died of a heart attack months later at the age of 59.
The ratio of guards to prisoners was one to three, compared to one to twelve in other prisons. Inmates had no visitors for the first three months and, afterward, only one visitor per month, a privilege that had to be earned. Limited access to the prison library was allowed, but newspapers, unapproved books, and radios were prohibited. All mail was screened, censored, and retyped. Work assignments were based on conduct records, and each prisoner had a private cell with basic necessities.
The routine was the same every day: prisoners awakened at 6:30 a.m., tidied their cells, washed up, and marched to the mess hall. After breakfast, they received their work assignments and were locked in their cells after dinner. Inmate counts occurred every half hour.
Warden Johnston’s strictly enforced silence policy was considered by many inmates to be the worst punishment. Prisoners were only allowed to talk during meals, in the yard on Saturdays, and for three minutes during morning and afternoon work breaks. Though the policy was later relaxed, many inmates were reportedly driven insane by it.
The prison’s only "redeeming" qualities were the private cells and food quality, intended to isolate hardened criminals and prevent riots.
Other notorious criminals held at Alcatraz included Arthur "Doc" Barker, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, Robert Stroud, and Floyd Hamilton. From 1931 to 1936, Doc Barker and Alvin Karpis terrorized the Midwest with crimes including murder, bank robbery, kidnapping, and train robbery. Karpis earned the distinction of being "Public Enemy No. 1." Doc Barker was killed in an escape attempt in 1939, while Karpis spent 26 years on Alcatraz before being transferred to McNeil Island in 1962. He was released and deported to Canada in 1969 and died in 1979.
Robert Stroud, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, gained attention in the 1962 movie of the same name. Stroud, convicted of manslaughter in 1909, was initially sent to McNeil Island and later to Leavenworth for attacking an orderly. After killing a guard, he was sentenced to hang, but his sentence was commuted to life. During his thirty years at Leavenworth, he studied birds, gaining international attention. After violating prison rules, he was sent to Alcatraz in 1942, where he was never permitted to continue his avian studies. Stroud occupied a cell in D Block for approximately six years before being moved to the prison hospital in 1948. In 1959, he was transferred to a Federal Medical Facility in Springfield, Missouri, where he died of natural causes in 1963.
Despite the heavy fortifications and treacherous waters, numerous escape attempts were made over the years. Of the 1,545 prisoners who spent time at Alcatraz, 36 attempted to escape in 14 separate attempts. Twenty were captured, seven were shot and killed, two drowned, and five were never found.
Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe disappeared on December 16, 1937, after filing through window bars and disappearing into San Francisco Bay. Prison authorities presumed they had drowned, but a San Francisco Chronicle reporter later claimed they were alive in South America.
The bloodiest escape attempt occurred from May 2-4, 1946, known as the "Battle of Alcatraz." Six men, Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Clarence Carnes, Marvin Hubbard, and Miran Thompson, took control of the cell house. After overpowering officers and gaining access to weapons and keys, they planned to escape through the recreation yard door. However, they lacked the key to the outside door and decided to fight. Two guards were killed. Eventually, Shockley, Thompson, and Carnes returned to their cells, while Coy, Cretzer, and Hubbard continued to fight. U.S. Marines were called in to assist, and Coy, Cretzer, and Hubbard were killed. Seventeen guards and one prisoner were wounded. Shockley, Thompson, and Carnes were tried for the officers’ deaths; Shockley and Thompson were executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin in 1948, while Carnes received a second life sentence.
On July 11, 1962, Clarence Anglin, his brother John, and Frank Morris disappeared from Alcatraz, an escape made famous by the movie "Escape From Alcatraz." The three escapees and Alan West made plaster heads with real hair and crept through widened ventilators into the utility corridor, then to the roof and down to the water’s edge. West could not fit through his hole and remained behind. Prison authorities believed the men had drowned, but no bodies were ever recovered.
During the last escape from Alcatraz on December 12, 1962, John Paul Scott swam from the island to Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge, proving it could be done. His accomplice, Darl Parker, was discovered on a nearby rock outcropping. Scott was found exhausted and hypothermic at Fort Point and was returned to Alcatraz after treatment.
Closure and Later History
Due to rising costs, its isolated location, and deteriorating facilities, Alcatraz was the most expensive state or federal institution. Simultaneously, prison operating philosophies shifted to reinstitution and rehabilitation. The government began building a new prison in Marion, Illinois, with plans to shut down Alcatraz. Though J. Edgar Hoover opposed closing Alcatraz, his opinion was ignored.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy officially closed Alcatraz on March 21, 1963, transferring the final 27 inmates off the island. Reporters were allowed on the island for the first time, making headlines nationwide. Afterward, Alcatraz Island was transferred to the General Services Administration in May 1963.
During its 29 years as a federal prison, Alcatraz confined more than 1,500 men under strict rules and deprivation. Former prisoners spoke of the terrible conditions, with many preferring death to continued incarceration. Suicides and murders were common. Infractions of the rules led to the "D" block, known as the "treatment unit," and harsher punishments included solitary confinement in total darkness or in steel boxes.
Prisoners looked out the barred windows at party barges, cars on the mainland, and life going on for those not imprisoned on the Rock.
Alcatraz served as an experiment in segregation that would never be repeated. Eight prisoners were murdered by other inmates, five committed suicide, 15 died from illness, and numerous others went insane.
From 1963 to 1969, the island remained abandoned, except for a brief Native American occupation in 1964. In 1969, Alcatraz Island made national news when another group of Native Americans claimed the island as Indian land.
Native American Occupation (1969-1971)
On November 9, 1969, Richard Oakes and a group of supporters symbolically claimed Alcatraz Island for the Native Americans, demanding the use of the island for a Native American Cultural Center and Indian University. On November 20, the symbolic occupation became a full-scale occupation lasting 19 months. The "Indians of All Tribes" organized and elected a council, providing security, sanitation, daycare, school, and housing. They demanded the deed to the island and the establishment of an Indian University, cultural center, and museum.
The federal government initially insisted that the Indians leave the island but eventually adopted a position of non-interference due to strong public support. Supporters from show business celebrities to the Hell’s Angels rallied behind the Indian occupation.
The Indian group began to fall into disarray, and in January 1970, many Indian students returned to school and were replaced by other Indians who were not involved in the initial occupation. Non-Indians, including the homeless and members of the San Francisco hippie and drug culture, also began to take up residence on the island. Organization fell apart after the death of Richard Oake’s 13-year-old stepdaughter.
The Indians faced the same challenges as the military and prison administrations—lack of natural resources and the need to ferry all supplies, food, and water by boat. Despite the prohibition of drugs and alcohol, contraband was brought onto the island. Without strong leadership, the situation became unmanageable, and the community fell apart.
The government shut off all electrical power and removed the water barge. A fire on June 1, 1970, destroyed several buildings, including the Warden’s home, the lighthouse keeper’s residence, and the Officers’ Club. The historic lighthouse was severely damaged.
The Native Americans began to strip copper wiring and tubing from the buildings to sell as scrap metal. On June 10, 1971, 20 armed federal marshals and the Coast Guard removed five women, four children, and six unarmed Indian men, ending the occupation.
Though the specific demands for the island were not realized, the occupation awakened the American public to the plight of Native Americans. The official government policy of terminating Indian tribes was ended, and a new policy of Indian self-determination was recognized.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
On October 12, 1972, Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Alcatraz Island became part of the National Park Service. After modifications to ensure public safety, the park opened in the fall of 1973 and has become one of the most popular Park Service sites, with over a million visitors yearly.
Visitors marvel at the wildlife, expansive gardens, dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and Treasure Island. The prison cell house, solitary confinement cells, and the "hole" remind visitors of the island’s past.
Numerous Hollywood movies, such as "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Escape from Alcatraz," have portrayed the "thrill" of Alcatraz. Many former inmates struggle to understand why people would want to visit a place that represented anguish and despair.
If you plan a trip to the island, reservations are recommended days in advance. The tour includes an orientation from a park ranger, a ranger-led or self-guided tour, and an orientation film. An audio tour features guards and former prisoners sharing their experiences.
Today, the military base barracks, prison cell house, and the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast remain. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is one of the largest urban parks in the world, encompassing 69 miles of bay and ocean shoreline, military fortifications, cultural landscapes, archeological sites, and the homeland of the Coastal Miwok and Ohlone people.
North of the Golden Gate Bridge, the park includes various sites in Marin County. South of the Golden Gate Bridge, the park includes Alcatraz Island, Baker Beach, Battery Chamberlin, and many other sites in San Francisco County. South of San Francisco, the park includes sites in San Mateo County.
Conclusion
The complete Long History of Alcatraz Island is an enduring testament to the power of transformation and the echoes of the past that linger in the present. From its sacred origins to its iconic role as a symbol of both confinement and resistance, Alcatraz continues to captivate and inspire reflection.